left eye dominance, right handed shooter

A

andhen2003

New member
Hello gents. I've been enjoying my Baretta 391 at the sporting clays range. I'm not very good yet but improving each time I go. I have a question about eye dominance. I am left eye dominant even though I shoot right handed. I imagine that this causes me to shoot slightly right of target (though I don't know for sure). I'm not sure how to compensate for being left eye dominant. Any ideas? I just tried shooting on the left side of the target but haven't really noticed any difference (I'm not good enough to notice yet anyway). I've also read something about blurring the left eye of my shooting glasses with vaseline?

Thanks.
 
I am a right handed shooter with a dominant right eye, but the left eye often takes over during shots. I just discovered the problem after shooting for nearly a year. I don't know if it is a recent development or it was there undiscovered all along.

Ayway, I have tried putting Scotch magic tape over part of the left lens of my glasses. Some use vaseline. The idea is to interfere with the left eyes vision just enough so that your brain bucket doesn't suddenly decide to favor the images seen by your left over your right eye.

There is also a DVD on cross firing by Phil Kiner. I have his "Tapshooting Clinic" DVD and it deals quite a bit with it and I am getting the eye improvement DVD he puts out. http://www.philkiner.com/order.asp

Slugo's sugestion to check this out on SGW is good advice. There is a lot of info there re cross dominance on the trap shooting forum. http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewforum.php?f=96&sid=d2a3d7b484b9e43cb298f62c9afbb7ca

I wan't even aware of the OSP forum and have to check it out.
 
left eye

my son is left eye dominant. his shooting mentor is very experienced and they tried everything to make it work shooting right handed. thay finally gave up and he shoots left handed with good success.
 
I am nondominanat, neither eye lines up. I put a piece of transluscent scotch tape over my left eye glasses lense. I sight with my right eye and still get peripheral vision from my left. Mark
 
I used to shoot with an elite level shooter who experienced an intermittent dominance problem. His solution was discipline, he trained himself to close his left eye immediately upon acquiring the target.
 
What the shooter Zippy mentions did is what many go with. Another is to leave the left eye open but to squint enough so as to prevent the computer on your neck from selecting it as the dominant eye. Some just close the dominant eye. Per Phil Kiner cross dominance is an issue that 30% of men and 98% of females deal with. For men, it often appears between ages 50 and 65.
 
I can run 23 out of 25 on sporting clays quite a bit. I'm left eye dominant right handed. That being said it's much harder for me to hit birds than sporting clays. It's something i have to get warmed up so to speak to do. I don't like closing my left eye, and the sight isn't dominant enough for my right eye to take over.
 
30-some years ago when I started shooting, it was strictly with long guns. I had never heard of checking eye dominance, so I shot right handed, and always have. Since I used a scope early on, I closed my left eye. When I shoulder a long gun now, my left eye automatically closes, just like always.

It looks like now that I am slightly left-eye-dominant. Recently, I decided to try shooting my 22 with scope with both eyes open. Like I say, my eyes are fairly "equal". This causes what I describe as lack of contrast when looking through the scope, as the brain tries to use the info from both eyes. I seemed to shoot the same accuracy with both eyes or just the right eye.

I personally think the eye question is overdone. Unless you are way dominant with one eye, you're better off just closing the left one if you are right handed.

It might be interesting for me to try shooting a rifle left handed. I've never tried it. I do regularly shoot my handguns left handed, just-in-case. My left eye still closes automatically.
 
It is different shooting at moving targets at different distances. Using one eye, you lose your depth perception. Try driving with one eye closed, or maybe not. Mark
 
My younger brother is right handed but left eye dominant... My father and I tried to get him to shoot right handed, but we then allowed him to shoot left handed and he no longer has any issues... My father is left handed and left eye dominant, but he wanted try to teach my brother to shoot right handed first..
 
I have heard what Weatherby's younger brother is doing is what is best for a younger person; to learn to shoot left handed when you are left hand dominant.
 
I am left eye dominant but shoot right handed. I have always closed my left eye to shoot so it has never been a problem. I did have to shoot my last deer left handed because of the way it come up on me and it felt really strange.
 
I am right handed but left eye dominant. I shoot a handgun right handed with both eyes open. I shoot a rifle or a shotgun left handed; it's the only way that works for me. Started shooting in 1956 & I see no reason to change at this late date.
 
that's pretty wild badge. i can't imagine shooting right handed with one type of gun and left handed with another. i may try shooting left handed just to see what it feels like, but i think it's going to feel pretty awkward, so i'll probably try the vasalene over the left lens technique. I'm probably going on my first pheasant hunt in a few weeks so not sure what i'll do for that!
 
i actually just read the orvis article that the link you posted led to. i experimented and found that squinting my left eye would force my right eye to take over as dominant eye. seems like doing that or shutting my left right as i'm about to shoot should do the trick. the brain works in mysterious ways.

thanks for the links!
 
Try shooting with both eyes. it works well for close quarters and shotgun/skeet shooting.
view over the sights at the target with your shooting eye and the target only with the other. It's not for everyone and takes some practice but give it a shot.
Either way it's a day at the range and that's always a good one.
 
There's several ways to fix this, but there's no guarantees on any one approach working...

First, shoot lefthanded. That's the best way, IMO. It's easier to train the hands than the eyes.Even if you're a seasoned shooter.

Second,block the dominant eye with vaseline or tape. Cheap, undone easily, but some folks get headaches.

Third, close the off eye. Downside,loss of steroscopic vision means we do not judge range or angle as well. Still I shot this way for decades and did OK.

I do better now with both eyes open. Basically, I just cowboyed up and did it.

Fourth, close the off eye just as you shoot. This is called "Blinking".I do this now some times, mostly on left to right shots where the left eye sees the target first. Moving the focal point back towards the trap helps.
 
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